James Parker was born in Boston Massachusetts and started making music in 7th grade. He released his first EP recently and so far, it has amassed over 3.5 million streams.
- So firstly, how would you describe your sound?
I think my sound at least based off of what I've released so far is kind of like Kanye or Jay-Z old school type songs where a big part of the production is the sampling. That was really the main element I wanted to make sure I put a lot of work into with my EP that just came out. I wanted to incorporate that kind of Kanye sampling where everything in it from the original song to the chopped version just has so much spirit. I think with some songs I focused more on the drum side but overall the sampling is really what gives the EP it’s sound and vibe. Think about “Through The Wire” by Kanye. I was just vibing to that song with my buddy Lowin in a mall once and I felt so at peace like a damn buddhist because that sample is so legendary. That’s really what I was going for in the EP.
- What’s a typical day in the studio like for you?
Even when I'm feeling good a usual day in the studio will really just be me messing around for a few hours and then most of the time only coming up with like 1 or 2 things that could actually be something special. My home studio space is usually just covered in clothes and fruit by the foot wrappers so every once in a while I’ll clean it up. A lot of the time I'll also just have that movie Rango playing in the background whenever I'm tryna make music cuz that lizard guy always makes me happy.
- Do you have to be in a certain mood to write a song?
Honestly my whole schedule with how I decide when to work on music is all over the place so my success in the studio is really just based on how I'm feeling at that moment. If I'm in a good mood I'll make something dope and if I'm feeling hungry or sad or whatever it’ll usually take me a longer time to get into the right headspace for making music. There was this one time some kid started playing Wonderwall at a party and it really got to my head because that’s the worst song to ever be made. And then when I went home I kept thinking about it so I could only really make bad music for the next few days. That is literally the level of hatred I feel for that song on a daily basis.
- Who are your three biggest musical inspirations?
A lot of people don’t like when I credit Michael Cera as my biggest musical inspiration so I'll go with my other three. I’m gonna have to go with 9th Wonder, J Dilla, and Kanye. I think with a lot of my music released and unreleased the inspiration can really be heard. I mean if it weren’t for 9th wonder I don’t even know if i’d be chopping samples at all. He’s the reason I got a drum pad in the first place.
- Who is the best band you've ever seen play live?
I saw Rich Brian perform live. He’s the only person I've ever seen perform live so I guess I'll have to go with him. I hate my answer to this question.
- What’s the toughest part of the industry for you?
The toughest part of the industry has got to be that feeling of when someone’s like “Yo that beats hard i’m gonna hop on it” and then you get excited because they are actually a really decent rapper and then they just never hop on it. Like why even say you're gonna hop on something if you are not gonna hop on something. If you don’t like the beat just say that. I ain’t your damn grandson just give it to me straight goddamn. Like you said you were gonna hop on it so just hop on it and send it to me if you don’t wanna hop on it then don’t say you gonna hop at all. People tell you they Bunnies when they really just Cows. Cows can’t hop. I ain't ever even seen a Cow hop. I ain’t ever even seen a Cow move. They always just standing and eating grass. Why they want grass so damn bad grass don’t even taste like nothing. Damn, I'm getting emotional just writing this.
- What’s the most enjoyable part of the industry?
Best part of the industry hands down is the feeling of finally finishing a project and Daniel Caesar. I finished my EP and started tearing up because you kinda just watch everything build up to this one moment after 6 months of work and you feel so accomplished. And then Daniel Caesar is easily the best part of the music industry. That man has no flaws and if you say he does then that means you probably have a lot of flaws you gotta work on.
- What’s in store for you for the rest of 2021?
Nothing is set in stone yet but it looks like I'm putting together a collective of artists. I've gotten some pretty decent rappers and other musicians who are down to start something and I think it seems like it would be great to really feel a part of something like that. I might release some more singles under my own name but mainly I could really see this collective becoming something I'm very involved with. I think there’s a pretty good chance we become this generation's beatles.